FurEllie

Bingo. When I was at the point where I was vomiting "black" it was because I had vomited so much my stomach folded over itself and died. I had to have 1/2 of it removed. I "died" several times both on and off the operating table I hope this woman has gotten to the ER by now. And no, we as adults don't always make the right decisions - it was my father who convinced me to go to the ER and I'm 46!!

Have you had your blood levels checked? When I was anemic, I was EXTREMELY winded after just a few steps. I didn't have enough red blood cells to get to my heart/lungs to make things "work" right. I had to have my band removed because of complications completely unrelated to the band and I REALLY wish I still had it :tongue2:

Seriously, my best friends asked me "WTH are you doing going to Mexico for surgery??!!" It wasn't until I told them of my experience AND that the doctor was recommended to me by my personal doctor AND that every visit I've made to OCC has had nurses and PAs as patients of Dr. Ortiz AND that compared with the 2 medical experiences I had in the states, I would charter a plane to be treated in Mexico any day compared to here that I think it sunk through their heads. There are stories after stories after stories about how bad the medical care is in the US. Then people come and knowing NOTHING of the Mexican doctors WHICH WE HAVE PERSONALLY BEEN TO, tell us how wonderful the US is and how horrible Mexico is? Give me a break. The US doctors are getting hammered by medical malpractice insurance (and it's obvious why since so many oppositions to being treated in Mexico is that there's no "legal" recourse) which is why they probably HAVE to charge as much as they do. I know Dr. Ortiz lives in the US - he could very easily do this in the US. But why deal with the hassles of the screwed up healthcare system here? BTW, every nurse and PA I was with was just amazed at how professional and clean OCC was and all stated that they wished where they worked was run as well. Oh, and I haven't met anyone on this board that I know of, nor am I "coyote", lol. The way some people's minds work...or don't.....

If you had an infected port and walked into an ER for treatment or went to your family doctor, you're telling me you were denied treatment? That honestly sounds more like bull than any of the "coyote" (aren't they the ones who transport illegal aliens over the border? What does that have to do with getting surgery in Mexico?) accusations.

Well I'm certainly not getting paid a penny for posting my excellent experiences with Dr. Oritz - wish I was He was recommended by my personal doctor who is also a family friend. As he pointed out to me, someone who has done 5000 Lapbands over the years is going to have a bit more experience than someone who's done a few hundred over the last couple of years. Do what you feel safe with, but I can 100% tell you that after several medical procedures in the last year, I would rate Dr. Ortiz's center as a 10 and the "prestigious" US hospital I was at a 4. Plus you can drink the Water in TJ

My insurance would have covered it too but I still went to Mexico under the advice of my personal doctor whom I've known since I was 13. His words "Why have the student do it when you can have the teacher do it?" There is a FillCentersUSA in VA Beach Fill Centers USA - Weight Loss Surgery - Bariatric Surgery - Gastric Bypass Surgery - Lap Band Surgery Information and Support Obviously you should always find aftercare BEFORE you made the decision to have any kind of medical work done far away from your home. This whole "But they won't treat me because I was banded in Mexico" doesn't make any sense to me. What if a Mexican citizen walked in there who had been banded or had had ANY sort of medical procedure - they'd just send them away? And I suppose if I have surgery in London and have complications later then no one in the US will treat me? I have yet to find a doctor who won't "treat" a Mexican banded patient though many will TELL you they won't. In fact, if she's having complications and goes to an ER it's against the law for them NOT to treat her.

I was banded last March, went through an overfill, but finally had a good fill going. Over Thanksgiving weekend I either 1. got sick taking antibiotics due to a recent hysterectomy 2. got a stomach virus or 3. food poisoning. At any rate, I didn't recognize it for the critical situation that it was and didn't push the ER doctors to unfill my band. I started getting sick Sunday night and finally went to the hospital Monday night. Their main concern was getting me to stop vomiting so they could a "cat scan with contrast". They knew I had the band. They knew I was allergic to compazine. But their main goal was to keep me from vomiting so they could do the cat scan. Unfortunately, nothing worked. Not only did nothing work, but whatever made me allergic to compazine was 1000 times worse when they were giving me every kind of anti nausea meds they could give me and I pretty much hallucinated for 3 days. Finally when they did the endoscope - which I THINK was Wed AM, they realized my stomach had bent over itself and was necrawhateverizing (dying). They got a surgeon in who DID WHAT THEY SHOULD HAVE DONE THE MINUTE I WALKED INTO THE ER AND UNFILLED MY BAND. Amazingly, that stopped me from vomiting (surprise). But they still had to remove the part of my stomach that was dead, and of course, the band. So....now I have no band. I have what WLS would look at as having my stomach stapled but it's not stapled, it's gone and with a WLS stomach staple they staple off 85% and mine was only 50% removed. Right now I can eat anything I want except Pasta which seems to expand :smile: I swear, I loved that band and after a year or so, if I can get approval, I will go back and get one put back in again! But please, if you've been vomiting for more than 12 hours, FIND SOMEONE TO UNFILL YOU. This particular hospital had a bariactric group (who told me later they were considered the red headed step children which was probably why they weren't even aware I was in the hospital until one of the nurses almost a week later had one of their nutritionalist come in to talk to me) so they had the supplies and knowledge and STILL didn't do it. I, of course, kept thinking I would eventually stop throwing up and didn't get to the hospital as soon as I should have. Hope my experience helps someone out there. Missing my band :myscared: BTW, for those who dismiss "Mexico Doctors" the surgeon said it was one of the best band placements he'd seen :redface:

Well, I'm back where I was w/o my band. I can eat whatever I want and I'm gaining all the weight back :Dancing_wub: If I could have done it w/o the band I would have figured out how to do it 30+ years ago! I'll wait until the beginning of next year, but I plan on talking to Dr. Ortiz about getting banded again. They may not do it due do my compromised stomach.

The band worked fine. I got sick. Either with the flu, food poisoning or the antibiotics I was given for my hysterectomy. Had they removed the fill at the ER first thing, I'd still have my band, my stomach they removed and I wouldn't have a 6 inch scare down my belly (funny they can do the exact same surgery laproscopically if a bariactric surgeon does it........). I wasn't vomiting often - maybe 5 times in the 12 or so hours I was at home. I had had an overfill before so I knew it wasn't that. The band worked fine. The hospital - not so much. They actually have a bariactric group on staff and never contacted them the entire time I was there until the nurse on my last day said she'd send in the bariactric dietician. They (bariactric group) was never even told of my presence. Had they been, the results would have been a lot different IMO. But that will be up for a judge to decide.

I am, unfortunately, able to eat anything and everything after the surgery :Dancing_wub: They removed 50% of my stomach and with a weight loss stapling/stomach removal they removed much more. For a few weeks I had trouble with sugar going right through me, but now even that is a breeze. I miss my band :thumbup:

I had mine "forcibly" removed back at the end of November. I too know how you feel :thumbup: They ended up removing 1/2 of my stomach and STILL I can eat whatever I want. I miss my band!!

At 46 I bought myself a Wii and the Dance Dance Revolution. Granted, I'm still in beginner mode and probably will be for awhile, but I have to literally STOP myself from playing :eek: I don't use the arm things - I have arm weights I can use while watching TV - just the legs. But I am getting sore so I know muscles are being used and I'm working up a good sweat. They have a workout mode on there that shows how many calories you've burned - haven't tried that yet. I'll still use my treadmill and once my stomach heals I want to get a personal trainer for at least a month or so to show me what specific exercises I need to do but this is a fun diversion. If you're bored and even slightly competitive (if I play and get an E, D or C I'll keep playing until I get a B or A), it's great!!

Folks, the kids menu is there to bring the parents in. If you're an adult I think you need to order off the adult menu. If you can't eat it all, take it home and eat it later. If a restaurant DOES accommodate you, then reward them with more visits, big tips, recommend to full ordering friends, etc. But if a resto doesn't accommodate you, just accept it and move on. Though making a scene in a restaurant might alone qualify you for a child's meal :smile2:

Which is why it's always advised to get aftercare set up in your town if you go to Mexico. I had my personal doctor who was set up to take care of any issues I had with the band (and in fact, recommended Dr. Ortiz to me) and when I had other medical problems and had to have my stomach reduced, the WLS department at that hospital said they have no problems taking care of Mexican banded patients. It seems most of the WLS doctors who say they won't take care of a Mexican patient are in the process of trying to sign up a patient and are in danger of losing that patient to a Mexican Dr. If I ran into a US doctor who told me that I'd walk out the door immediately. There are bad doctors in the US too as well as people who have had all kinds of medical care outside the US. Can you imagine if doctors started refusing to see all those patients??!

I was given one when I got my band card (had the serial number, size of my band and when it was placed).

Your body will tell you if it's too much. That can happen with as little as 2cc in a 4cc band (I was perfect at 1.6cc or 1.9cc - now I can't remember!!). I've heard of ALL band sizes having a little extra leeway as far as getting more liquid in than it "officially" holds.

Ooooh - just signed up to be notified - thanks :tt2:

I'll try the boxing too :mad: It's funny, I'll sit there and watch the clock and say to myself "OK, it's been an hour - but I really want to beat this song - 2 more times!". I never do that about any kind of exercise, lol.

If that's for me: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f79/great-while-lasted-49338/

I didn't go to Dr. Ortiz to "save" anything, I went to him because he is one of the most experienced lapband doctors. My personal doctor recommended him to me and as I've stated before, the surgeon who operated on my stomach, while VERY against lapbanding, said it was the best placed one he'd ever seen. I have a personal doctor for follow up care and FillCentersUSA for fills. The WLS group at the hospital where I had my stomach surgery said they would have had no problem seeing me as a Mexican banded patient had I ever requested their services. What I usually hear are doctors who are treating self pay patients saying "I won't treat Mexican banded patients". I strongly suspect that as soon as one of their potential patients brings up Mexico, that doctor sees $$$ going out the window. Yes, there are bad doctors in Mexico. Yes there are bad doctors in the US. And if you think you automatically have some kind of recourse against a bad Dr. in the US or don't against a bad Dr. in Mexico then you need to educate yourself more on the subject. Best of luck.

Very incorrect information. On Oprah's show was Cassie who was banded by Dr. Ortiz in Mexico. Dr. Ortiz has done over 5000 bands and proctored many of the doctors doing bands in the US. If your doctor won't treat you because you went to another doctor (outside the country or not), then find another doctor. My personal doctor had zero problems treating me and when I had a severe stomach problem, the ER and the surgeon who operated on me and was the one who removed my band also had zero problem treating someone who had been banded in Mexico. To the OP - there are some places in the US who are doing trials. Unless you just turned 17 you will probably be 18 by the time the pre-work is done. I believe they said it was 6 months. And if you're having financial problems to get to another country you might have financial problems getting to one of those locations. One of the mother's said they had to go once a month. Best of luck. If you're close to 18 and your mother's insurance will still cover you when you turn 18, I'd start seeing local doctors now to get the process started (most insurance companies have you go through dieting, psychological evaluations, etc.) so you're ready for your band at 18

We were administered Toradol when I had my band and that's an NSAID. I don't think the ibuprofen had anything to do with your band, IMHO.

I had 3 fills and not a single one hurt. Where is it hurting? The band? The port? Are they hitting you at the right place the first time? You might just be experiencing some stoma soreness due to the band being "irritated". If so, just take a few days easy and on liquids. If it's the port that's giving you problems, I'd find a new fill doctor or see if there's a problem with your port placement.

Due to emergency surgery I basically now have a version of the gastric sleeve. However, I believe with the gastric sleeve 85% of your stomach is blocked off and mine is only 50%. But danged if I can't eat like crazy! I totally miss my band. :tt1: It's a much better tool, IMO.

I have never heard of anything like this ever. I'm obviously not a doctor, but IMHO, this had nothing to do with your fill or even your band. I hope you find out soon what the problem is and feel better!!